Article: New Orleans Saints linebacker Jonathan Vilma will have his day in court Thursday.

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New Orleans Saints linebacker Jonathan Vilma will have his day in court Thursday.

this is a discussion within the Saints Community Forum; Momentum toward the hearing has built slowly since NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell affirmed Vilma's punishment June 18, and its occurrence was assured after a Monday settlement conference among the NFL, the NFL Players Association and Vilma failed to produce an ...

Momentum toward the hearing has built slowly since NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell affirmed Vilma's punishment June 18, and its occurrence was assured after a Monday settlement conference among the NFL, the NFL Players Association and Vilma failed to produce an agreement.

During the hearing, Vilma will seek to establish that he has a substantial likelihood of eventual success in court based on the merits of his case, that a substantial threat of irreparable injury exists if the injunction is not issued, and that the threatened injury if the injunction is denied outweighs any harm that will result if the injunction is granted.

Vilma's team of attorneys will put forth eight witnesses and introduce approximately 10 exhibits, according to a filing by Berrigan earlier Wednesday. The witnesses include Vilma, Saints interim Coach Joe Vitt, Scott Shanle, Roman Harper, Jonathan Casillias, Sedrick Ellis, Troy Evans and Randall Gay. Pierson Prioleau also submitted a signed affidavit, which Vilma moved to file on Wednesday. The league's attorneys do not intend to call any witnesses or exhibits, according to Berrigan's filing.

Star quarterback Drew Brees, who submitted an affidavit Friday, said Monday that he does not plan to make an appearance today before the team's first practice.

The witnesses likely will focus on the assertions that Vilma's career will be harmed irreparably if he misses Saints training camp, which opened Tuesday, and that the league's investigation into a pay-for-performance/bounty program was not grounded in fact.